We are sitting, all snugly, in Whimsy at 6.30 Saturday night at the Discovery Caravan Park at Cradle Mountain, and it is flogging down. (Glad we have Whimsy up on ramps) Today and last night have been very, very cold here, probably about 5 degrees up to about 13 max.
The first day we arrived we used the Camp Kitchen, cooked dinner, took wine and played Trivial Pursuit. This park has what we can honestly say is the most amazing Camp Kitchen we have ever seen. It has Pizza Ovens, Hot Plates, BBQ plates, microwaves and two open fires for you to light if so desired. Jayne so desired. See pics in Gallery
Yesterday Jayne and I walked the Dove Lake walk at the base of Cradle Mountain which is the most popular walk in Tasmania, and very scenic. This walk is about 6.5 klms long (or should I say up and down) with a suggested walk time of 2-3 hours.
The Dove Lake walk is classed as 'moderately' difficult. Jayne and I walked it in less than 2 hours but there were sections that were really tough and my heart was pumping out of my chest by the time I reached the top of a couple of the more challenging climbs. Glad we did it. See Dove Lake photos in gallery of yesterday 27th in the sun, and today 28th. Same view different weather.
Last night we dined at Hellyers Restaurant which is just next door to the park and it is the only restaurant with a view of Cradle Mountain. Lovely. Not brilliant, but lovely.
Today we took a 2 hour Park Explorer Tour which was really informative and handy given it was raining all day! We learned the history of the Cradle Mountain World Heritage area which is really quite something. The pioneering spirit of the folk that fought for this area to be classified as a national park way back in the early nineteen hundreds is truly amazing. Seeing pictures of women in those days climbing Cradle Mountain, (the summit - over 1500 metres) in long dresses and corsets was by our reckoning awe inspiring. The flora and fauna is unique to this very special place. There are pencil pines which are estimated to be over 2,000 years old. Wombats, wallabies, platypus, echidnas and bird life are abundant here.
Cradle Mountain is a beautiful area, and well worth seeing.
We have just finished dinner here, which was a home cooked curry of left overs. Given the weather it has definitely warmed the cockles of our hearts, however, we are a bit worried Whimsy will smell of curry for a month!
We are off again tomorrow and this time we are heading to Strahan where we hope to do the Gordon River Heritage Cruise.
See the park review in that section.
Take care, love to all.
A&J